A bidet apparatus for washing and cleaning body parts (e.g., genital and/or anal) using water spray was initially developed in the form of a bidet that provided a single spray of water and was permanently built into a toilet bowl. These bidets were expensive to build and a new generation of bidets were developed that reversibly attached to the seat or bowl of a toilet, and which included a plurality of nozzles for multiple water sprays for washing body parts as well as the bidet itself.
Existing bidets fail to address all concerns relating to the design and function in the general field of bidets. For example, pollution of the outer surface of the nozzles is a common problem and causes aesthetic and hygienic issues. This is particularly important in bidets used, for example, by infirm or sick people who have to be especially cautious about maintaining hygiene and preventing infections.
Mobile cleaning and bidet systems have been developed, which operate according to various techniques in order to overcome these problems, for example, bidets disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Nos. 2014/0101838 and 2015/0305577, the disclosures of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. Such bidets include a mechanical system that retracts the nozzles within a cylindrical covering to prevent pollution during use. When activated by a mechanical signal, the nozzles move forward within the body of the cylinder. The mechanical signal acts by the force of the washing water that pushes the nozzle out of its outer covering and thus, washing water is sprayed on the person sitting on the toilet. When the washing water supply is stopped, the nozzle is retracted. Therefore, when a user uses the lavatory, the user's excrement is not splattered directly on the nozzles since the nozzles are accommodated within the outer covering.
The nozzles of a bidet may still become dirty when the user is being washed by the washing water sprayed from the nozzle. Some bidets overcome this by allowing the user to pull out the nozzle manually and clean the nozzle after use. This is both cumbersome and unpleasant. Some other bidets have a cleaning nozzle to wash the washing nozzles after usage. This is also undesirable because of nozzle positions and dripping of the nozzle washing water. Therefore, there remains a need in the art for a bidet apparatus that includes interchangeable and replaceable bidet nozzles.